This content is protected This is only a one-rounder. Here goes: To my surprise Comiskey was the taller of the two. The two skipped the formalities. Shortly after the bell even rang Baer had Comiskey pinned in a corner and they tagged each other with electric shots. The two returned to fighting with their jabs. Baer hit Comiskey with a solid right hand. It didn't move Comiskey, but I think it irritated him enough to cause him to spring into action, cuz he jumped on Baer after that, wailing away with shots to the body. Baer threw another right that hurt Comiskey, who retreated to the nearest corner, but Comiskey fought his way back out. At exactly 5:09, Comiskey launches a left jab, but Baer landed first with an awesome right cross, sending Comiskey down the hard way. He was getting up though, but as soon as Baer advanced upon him, he went down to take a knee. As soon as he was up and the ref waved the action back in, Baer threw a right, but Comiskey surprisingly landed a better left hook as Baer came in on him. A series of rights and lefts (rights mostly) hurt Comiskey again, who found his way back to the ropes, sagging over the side. The ref, Jack Dempsey, waved them back in again. A right hand and a left hook was all it took to have Comiskey draped over the ropes like a towel. He was actually hugging the ropes he was so scared. Verdict: Pretty good one-rounder fight. Not the best, but surprising for heavyweights, especially back then, and being so big as well. I know Baer was not prime, but he looked really good here. Actually, this was one of his cleanest performances I've seen. Comiskey though-man, I don't know what to think of him. He looked like he got really scared after the first knockdown, hugging the ropes and all that.
Older Max is fun to watch, I'll admit. He was blood and guts, so tough. And he does a few good things here (including the most important good thing, winning). With Comiskey's wide shots in close, Max actually throws a couple uppercuts in tight. And the beginning of the end is a good show of drawing his opponent forward and having him walk into a shot... in this case, a monster shot. Nice little trap.
Actually, I think Baer was a more skilled fighter after he lost to Braddock. Oh, he didn't have the stamina and he still wasn't a good fighter, least of all an accurate puncher, but in the first Nova fight you can see he has a better jab and is slightly more accurate in his punching.
I just checked. He was 21 and had been pro for only two years. Obviously quite inexperienced and overmatched. But I guess that's the level of opposition it took at the point to prop Baer.
Well, just factual matters. Comiskey's height? He is listed at boxrec and at most sources as 6' 3" but I did find a source which listed his height as 6' 4.5"--I think that might be closer to the truth. Comiskey's age--all sources I can find--Wikipedia, The New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame, and IMDB (Comiskey was a sometime actor) give his birthdate as October 27, 1920. The fight with Max Baer was on September 26, 1940, so he was still 19 years old. One month short of his 20th birthday. Just on Comiskey, I think he was very poorly managed. There was no way a teenager should have been matched with Max Baer who obviously could still hit and was coming off a stoppage of Tony Galento. What were they thinking? Within a few months, Comiskey was matched with Lou Nova and off the reports I have read, he took a brutal 10 round beating. He was barely 20 at the time. Hard to say what he might have been if handled better and brought along more reasonably. As for this fight, Baer caught him and Comiskey did not have the experience and skills to parry the follow up attack. I don't know if there is any reason to think he was scared. He just stood straight and open and didn't seem to know how to clinch until Baer draped him over the ropes. Interesting that Kearns was the promoter and Dempsey the referee. I guess they had buried the hatchet, or money spoke louder than old time spite.
